Blithe Spirit (1945)
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins
Synopsis: In David Lean's adaptation of Noel Coward's three-act farce, an English mystery novelist invites a medium over for dinner in the hopes of gathering enough material for his latest book, as well as exposing her as a charlatan. However, a series of incidents occur during the course of the... In David Lean's adaptation of Noel Coward's three-act farce, an English mystery novelist invites a medium over for dinner in the hopes of gathering enough material for his latest book, as well as exposing her as a charlatan. However, a series of incidents occur during the course of the evening, which result in a chain of supernatural events being set in motion which wreak havoc on his present marriage, while bringing to light serious flaws in his previous one. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Margaret Rutherford, Kay Hammond, Hugh Wakefield
Story: Ronald Neame
Composer: Richard Addinsell
Story: David Lean, Anthony Havelock-Allan
DVD Info
Release:
Sep 7, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Full Frame
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Mono - English
Additional Release Material:
- Trailer
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Reviews
As the medium Madame Arcatti, Margareth Rutherford stole every scene in David Lean's screen adaptation of Nowel Coward's witty play.
Inasmuch as this is largely a photographed copy of the stage play [by Noel Coward], the camerawork is outstandingly good and helps to put across the credibility of the ghost story more effectively than the flesh and blood performance does.
Nifty special effects for the time, and plenty of Coward's inimitable wit and repartee.
Worth it just for Margaret Rutherford as a sort of girls' school gamesmistres-style psychic!
The last word in witty repartee of the most civilized kind – the sort of thing Noel Coward was known for, and nobody did better.
Passably good, but it should have been better, what with Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford reading the Noel Coward lines.


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